Rail Map Online uses Javascript to load the map, display the layers, calculate coordinates and manipulate the general layout of the page. The website has been tested in a variety of browsers, but if you notice bugs or strange effects then please contact us with details of the browser and device used to help us fix it.

Rail Map Online uses a Google Maps API to display the underlying map, with layers depicting the railway tracks and points of interest rendered on top of the map, again using the Google Maps API. Your use of Google Maps is subject to the Google terms & conditions.

The track layers have been produced by Rail Map Online in KML format. The station files are stored as Google Fusion Tables which speeds up the rendering and also makes for a neater display. The layers are intended for personal use only - if you would like to use them in your own website or publications then please contact the site owners for permission.

The KML files (the railway tracks, stations and points of interest) are derived from a number of sources. Note that due to Google's terms of conditions, every care has been made to avoid copying their information and other sources of location have been used to derive routes and locations (such as old Ordnance Survey maps that are out of Copyright) - see the Links section below.

Where railway information is freely available (for instance locations of existing tracks on maps), then in many cases only a rough representation of a route is provided here, with the focus of this website being on those lines no longer existing and the smaller, less well known branches and industrial systems. It is not possible to depict every spur and siding, but where significant lines are missing or errors have been made then please contact us so that we can correct it.

The primary source of information on old railway lines and the companies that built them is from various Wikipedia articles, and most of the lines when clicked on will bring up a link to the relevant article. Wikipedia is an amazing resource, and thank you to all of your who have contributed to the articles and put so much information on line for us all to use. Wikipedia also contains a number of Railway Clearing House junction diagrams that have been used to help allocate ownership of different lines.

As well as Wikipedia, the amazing RailBrit is a wealth of information on many UK lines, and many of their pages are also linked from the map.

Routes of Irish railways have been taken from out-of-copyright OS Ireland maps. The best source for this is Open Street Map, but OS Ireland also has some maps available.

Details of more recent changes have been taken from various articles, including Network Rail publications and many of the modern tram companies' sites (linked from the map).

A special mention must go to The Railways Archive which is not only a fantastic resource, but also has enabled links from their extensive railway accident database directly to locations on this website.

Help

Map Control. The map itself is controlled just like any other Google Map. Either use the mouse to drag the map around, and scroll wheel to zoom in & out, or use the map controls on the right side of the map. Different underlying map views are available from the Map button at top-right (e.g. satellite, street map, terrain map, historical maps), as well as the ability to turn on geographical labels.

Mouse Actions. Double-clicking on an area of the map zooms in. Right clicking on an area of the map places a Marker (a red symbol), which can also be dragged around to re-position. This is for you to mark a position or feature. Clicking on the Marker provides the position, or it can be viewed on the Tools Sidebar.

Lines & Places. Clicking on a map feature (a track or station) will bring up any available information, such as station name and position, or links to web resources (such as Wikipedia articles).

Sidebars. The buttons at the top-left of the map bring up Sidebars containing additional Rail Map Online features. Only one sidebar is shown at once, or all sidebars can be hidden to maximise the map area.

Tools contains the current cursor position (or map centre if the cursor is off the map), the Marker position and the ability to change the displayed position format. You can also remove the Maker from the map.

Places contains a list of all the stations currently displayed. You can choose to display stations (red dots, more will appear as you zoom in) and other features (green dots). You can also search the list of stations, or use the Area search feature to list just those stations in the current view. Hovering over the station list puts a temporary green marker on the map (if in view), while clicking on a station name centres the map on that position; double-clicking zooms to the station; and right-clicking puts the Marker on the station. If performance is slow then it is recommended you do not use the Places feature.

Legend contains a list of all the railway companies currently displayed. The Dynamic option will automatically list just those companies in the current view. As with places, you can search the companies. Click on the company name to centre & zoom the map, or hover your mouse over the company to show a coloured polygon on the map showing the approximate extent of that company's lines. The list of companies is slowly being populated.

Info brings up various information about Rail Map Online and the information displayed.